WILLIAM S. BURROUGHS

(American, 1914-1997)

and

STEVEN LOWE

(American, 1947-2007)

ACTION ABSTRACT

Acrylic on Canvas

Diptych, 72 x 96 inches

Each Panel: 72 x 48 Inches

 

Signed Lower Right, "William S. Burroughs", Dated "1993" and Titled, "Exterminator II"

 Signed Lower Left, "Steven Lowe" and

Dated "93"

 

A very substantial, Action Abstract painting comprising energetically interwoven swirls of parchment and ivory contrasted against a rich, dark-chestnut ground. This diptych is the largest recorded work by the artist.

 

An icon of twentieth-century counter-culture, William Burroughs was the seminal, postmodern author of 'The Naked Lunch' and the éminence grise of the Beat Generation. He remains "one of the most politically trenchant, culturally influential, and innovative artists of the 20th century." (Junkie, Penguin Modern Classics, 2003). Created with Burroughs' long-time collaborator and alter-ego, Steven Lowe, this monumental work shows a harmonized balancing of the fevered energy that characterized Burroughs' literary, artistic and personal life.

 

Accompanied by a first edition volume of 'Paper Cloud, Thick Pages' by William Burroughs, (1993, ArT Random and Kyoto Shoin, Japan) and a copy of 'exterminator!' by William S. Burroughs- for which a detail of this painting was used for the book cover.